The way of the clan (P, Kisuke)

Minato was feeling nervous as he was walking to the place where he was supposed to go. Not too long ago he received a message from his sensei, Uchiha Kisuke. In the message it said to meet him, where and when. Nothing more, nothing less. As expected from the red haired Uchiha, not the type to beat around the bush. Nevertheless Kisuke had taken the trouble to write a message asking them to meet. This would point out that it had to be something of importance since he wouldn’t contact Minato just to hang out.
 
Having read the content of the letter, he then immediately took off heading to the meeting point his sensei had set. As soon as he had stepped out of his home he started to become both nervous and curious as to why he was needed. At the same time he would begin to wonder if it was only him who was summoned or if his teammates were also asked to come. It wouldn’t take long for Minato to get there since his destination was none other than the Uchiha District. Being that the place where Kisuke wanted to meet it made him think that it was just going to be the two of them since not all of their team members were part of the Uchiha clan.
 
On his way over to the district he started to come up with different scenarios for his summoning. So far the only thing coming to mind was that it would involve their clan as they were both an Uchiha. Both of them had mentioned before that they weren’t happy with the current condition of their clan and that they wanted to bring it back to where it belonged.
 
On the other hand Minato was looking forward to have a conversation with another Uchiha besides his family. So far the only clan members he had really spend time with were his parents, his friend Mizuko and his cousin Fukuro. Unfortunately no one had heard from his cousin the last couple of weeks so it had been a while. Recently he had met his sensei Kisuke and his new teammate Kozachi Uchiha. But besides them he never really got into contact with any Uchiha. This resulted in him being curious about getting to know more about them, as he never really studied his once so powerful clan. One of the reasons why he kept low profile was that he was a late bloomer. In contrast to his fellow clan members he still had to awaken his Sharingan, the Kekkei Genkai or Bloodline Limit, the Uchiha are so famous for.
 
He arrived at the Uchiha district where he could spot his sensei from a distance. Standing not far from where Minato was, the red haired Uchiha was busy putting out his cigarette, almost as if he expected Minato to get there at that exact same time.
 
Once he would go over there to greet his sensei he would finally get to know the reason why he was called over.
 
“Yo, sensei. You asked me to meet you here?”
And with those words he would soon find out what was going on.

(WC: 530)

The curse of the Uchiha. The blood that flowed through their veins granted members of the clan a Kekki Genkai that bestowed them with great power and the potential for even more. However the clan was plagued with darkness. Negative emotions ruled over the clan and the evolution of its famed dojutsu. Sorrow, hopelessness, fragility, worthlessness, death, pain, everything an Uchiha had to experience in order to truly become a member of the clan. As depressing as it was, in its own way it was fitting. It made sense. To have to experience so much hardship in order to grow as a shinobi and member of the Uchiha clan was in fact quite normal. Even for those not gifted with the blood of the Uchiha, it was only through hardship and failure that one could grow as an individual. Only by struggling through the trenches could someone come out the other end as a better individual, a greater person and stronger shinobi.  

Through such hardships an Uchiha could evolve their eyes into the different levels of the Sharingan, which unlike other individuals whom progressed through the world, this put a large target on their back. Once their crimson red eyes and spinning tomoe were unlocked, their eyes would become an object desirable by many others, others who sought to steal the gifts granted to them by birth and use it for themselves. Kisuke had experienced it first hand. The very same man that had almost killed him, tortured him by carving up his body and insides with threads in order to force the unlocking of his second and third tomoe's stole Kisuke's Sharingan himself. At the time, Kisuke was a young Genin, as green as summer grass. He was naive and foolish. He saw his friend training with another individual so he joined in the session. But it turned out to be a grave mistake when his Sharingan was stolen.

Without his Sharingan, Kisuke no longer considered himself to be an Uchiha. How could he have been one, when the only discerning factor that made an Uchiha part of the clan was their eyes. Sure he could have probably had a child who would be an Uchiha for the blood still ran through his veins, but for all intents and purposes, he no longer considered himself one. He had lost his greatest source of power. But eventually, with the help of the village he got them back. He was whole once more and it was through those turbulent times that Kisuke faced the most adversity. It was then and there that he had to look deep downside inside of him to seek the strength to make it through and continue onward. It was that adversity that helped him evolve, not only as an Uchiha but as a person and a shinobi. Only through hardship could one evolve. Minato was about to experience that first hand.

Kisuke stood at the entrance of the Uchiha district, resting against the gate that arched over his head with the symbol of the clan hanging high and mighty. With his bright red hair tied back into a long pony tail, donning his usual leather jacket draped over a white shirt, black tracks pants and shin high boots, Kisuke casually waited in silence with a cigarette in his hand. With closed eyes and his head resting back on the gate, he methodically brought the cigarette towards his mouth every so often to inhale its sweet, relaxing fumes. It did not take long for him to sense Minato's chakra signature and when he did, the teen Uchiha would open his eyes and turn to face his approaching pupil with a stern, lazy look.

"Minato." He would greet while taking another puff from his cigarette. "How's it going kid?" Even though Kisuke was the same age as Minato he called him kid. The fact that he was Kisuke's student made the red headed Uchiha feel like he was older than his student. "Yeah, I did." He responded to Minato. "Walk with me."

Pushing himself off of the gate, Kisuke would turn inwards towards the Uchiha district. Slowly he would begin to casually stroll forward, expecting Minato to follow. "So, have you seen Fukuro recently? I havent heard from him in a while. He was suppose to be a part of our squad actually before I was reassigned someone else." Kisuke was starting small talk before he got into the real reason for having summoned Minato, but he also required some information in order to do what he had planned for today. After Minato would offer his answer, Kisuke would continue "Tell me. Have you unlocked your Sharingan yet?" Continuing to smoke from his cigarette, Kisuke would listen to his student as the two of them moved through the Uchiha District.

A moment of silence. Something Minato knew all too well. 
Moments ago he had joined his sensei Uchiha Kisuke at the Uchiha District for God knows what. Even though he had no idea what to expect, the young Uchiha would take on any challenge his sensei would throw at him. His sensei who seemed a bit preoccupied that instant. Sunk away in his own thoughts the red haired Uchiha took his time before finally greeting his student.

"You know, it's going. Still figuring out my own Ninja way inbetween missions and training. Trying to find my place in all of this. But it helps being part of a team." 
Minato still had some trouble figuring out what was to be expected of him. He had a hard time picturing the image of what would be described as a true shinobi. Now it was his time to be sunk away in his own thoughts. Luckily for him he returned to the present time as he heard the voice of his sensei telling Minato to walk with him.

As he pushed himself off of the gate Kisuke started strolling forward, the signal for Minato to follow after him. The two Uchiha were walking through the Uchiha District, Kisuke a bit ahead of Minato. Now that they were fully entering the District, Minato started to remember how long it had been since the last time he had been there.
Not granting his student the time to start to dream away Kisuke fired what would be considered the most important question the day would probably have to offer. 
"Have you seen Fukuro recently?" 

A moment of silence. Again.
The questioned repeated itself in his head over and over. "Have you seen Fukuro recently?". His mind started going blank for a moment, just for a little bit, but it would be enough to confirm that this day would turn out to be one of his worst he had ever seen.
It wasn't the question giving him a hard time, but the answer. Or rather the lack of a valid answer. It had been weeks since he last saw his younger cousin, not having a single clue about his whereabouts. After having regained his composure he would go ahead and answer his sensei's question to the best of his abilities.

"No, I'm afraid not. I haven't seen my cousin since we successfully wrapped up a mission. For as far as I know I just figured he was busy training, trying to improve himself just like the rest of us. But I was shocked when he didn't turn up for our first team meeting. Especially since he was the one who had asked me to join him. It was the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on him, just like I promised I would do."

After telling what he knew, Minato could notice the atmosphere turning darker. Little did he know he would soon find out how dark things could really get. Curious as to why Kisuke would bring up Fukuro out of nowhere he decided to ask. 
"But why do you ask, did you hear from him? Is he okay?"

Dodging the question of his student, Kisuke would then continue with yet again another sensitive topic. The Sharingan. The Kekkei Genkai the Uchiha were so famous for and granted them amazing power. 
"Have you unlocked your Sharingan yet?"
It was a question he wasn't expecting and neither did see coming, but on the other hand didn't really surprise him either. He knew somewhere along the line the topic would come up. 

A feeling of shame suddenly came over him as he would soon have to tell his sensei that he had yet to awaken his Bloodline Limit. He had accepted the fact that he was a late bloomer, far from a natural. Growing up he went through difficult times as he saw the rest of his clan unlock the clan's doijutsu. Even younger Uchiha, like his cousin. It resulted in Minato doubting himself if he had the right to consider himself an Uchiha. It was also one of the reasons he didn't like walking through the Uchiha District. Even though it would hurt him to say it, he had to be honest about it with his sensei.

"As much as it pains me to admit, I haven't unlocked my Sharingan yet. It has caused me not to see myself as one of the clan, but I haven't given up yet. It will be only a matter of time before I successfully attain my Sharingan. I'm sure of it."

He hoped that he had convinced Kisuke of his willpower to overcome any obstacle on his path. But curious and at the same time having a bad feeling about what may come next, Minato would wait for a further explanation. 

(WC: 802, TWC: 1332)

Silence lingered while Kisuke casually strolled through the streets of the Uchiha district. It was as if they were the only one's present within a ghost town. It was early morning so the streets were still empty, not a sound to be heard as Kisuke lead Minato. "You're still new to this, untested. You'll find your way eventually." Kisuke swiftly mentioned in response to Minato trying to find his place in the world. It was a quick, short comment for he did not want to waste time talking about where they fit in the world but he did not want to ignore Minato's words either. It was not that long ago that Kisuke believed himself to have found his place in the world, that he had finally found his mission in life. All it took for that to happen was the invasion of Kiri and the forced killing of a fellow Konoha shinobi. Hopefully the events that lead to Minato's awakening would not be as harsh, but that was unlikely for they were shinobi living in the world they themselves had created. One of war and slaughter. One where power reigned and the weak were culled.

Waiting for Minato to answer his question about the sudden disappearance of his cousin Fukuro, Kisuke would continue heading towards the destination he had in mind. With one hand plunged into the pocket of his black leather jacket and the other mechanically being raised and put down in order to smoke his cigarette, Kisuke would glance over towards Minato without shifting his head to listen to his fellow Uchiha's answer. "I unno." Kisuke ominously said, shrugging his shoulders in ignorance. "It's likely he just gave up as being a shinobi and moved out of the village. It happens." Finished the Uchiha with a tone of uncertainty. He was however all too familiar with that. During his time as a Genin he cycled through many teammates for several of them decided to give up the shinobi life and live a simpler one. It was not a bad path to walk, but it was an unacceptable one for an Uchiha to walk. Kisuke had taken a break during his one year hiatus and although some time off did him good, he could never not be a shinobi. The Uchiha blood within boiled, his body urging to fight, his eyes crying out to be used. It was part the cursed bestowed upon him from being an Uchiha. 

Cool, calm and collected, Kisuke would continue smoking his cigarette as he listened to the mournful and ashamed Minato admit that he had not yet unlocked his Sharingan, as the red headed Uchiha had expected. "You're eyes are just dormant fucktard." Kisuke retorted. "As long as you still have them you will always be an Uchiha." Kisuke understood full well what it felt like to no longer consider yourself an Uchiha. He had had his very eyes, his Sharingan ripped out of his skull and replaced with dummy eyes. The prized possession of his clan, what made him a member of the Uchiha clan outside of the blood that flowed through his veins had been taken from him. The rage and anger coupled with the sense of being lost an hopeless accompanied they feeling he felt of no longer being an Uchiha. Minato did not truly feel any of those. He was just ashamed to still be unable to use his Sharingan.

"Tell me..." Kisuke would finish, nearing the designated destination he wanted to get to. "do you know how to unlock the three stages of the Sharingan?"

It was still morning when the two Uchiha were strolling through the streets of the Uchiha district. Not that Minato would mind since this was the perfect opportunity for them to discuss serious matters, as they weren’t going to be interrupted by anyone this early. He would find it a funny, yet peculiar sight. Their clan was always notorious for getting too emotional, for not being able to control themselves as they were led on a path of destruction. Many wouldn’t believe it if they were told that two Uchiha were able to casually walk around the district, enjoying the peace.
 
But that wasn’t the reason Kisuke had summoned Minato there. Perhaps it was only for a brief moment, but there was this silence that shortly remained with them before it would finally disappear.
Still following behind Kisuke, curious about where his sensei would take him, the red haired Uchiha said he had no idea of Minato’s cousin Fukuro whereabouts. Not even in the slightest. He figured it to be likely he had given up being a shinobi and continued his journey somewhere else, out of the village. Hoping that was the case, Minato felt relieved to hear his cousin was probably doing fine.
 
Minato was still wondering how Kisuke would react now that he had found out about the fact that his student still had to unlock his Sharingan.
Expecting his sensei to be disappointed in his student’s inability to use his Sharingan he was caught by surprise when Kisuke, in his own unique way, tried to cheer Minato up. Kisuke had the tendency to curse when speaking to someone, even when he is complimenting or motivating them. For someone who wasn’t used to such a thing it would turn out to be quite the shock to listen to him, but that wasn’t the case for Minato. He had grown used to his sensei’s way of talking and would even find it suspicious if he wasn’t cursing.
 
With the two of them having traveled quite some distance, Kisuke would stop and ask if Minato knew how to unlock the three stages of the Sharingan. For an Uchiha it was basic information to know.
When an Uchiha experiences a powerful emotional condition with regards to a person precious to them, their brain releases a special form of chakra that affects the optic nerves, transforming the eyes into Sharingan,
Despite the Uchiha's so-called "Curse of Hatred", the emotion can also be positive, driven by a desire to protect someone. Although it’s possible to unlock it through a positive emotion, most of the clan members had to experience negative emotions when unlocking their Sharingan.
 
“It takes one to experience a negative emotion, but it’s not impossible to unlock it by experiencing a positive emotion as well. For the first tomoe the user must feel deep sorrow or sadness. The second tomoe is awakened by feeling hopeless, when you feel like you’re not strong enough. And the third tomoe is when you are depending on your Sharingan and feel the need to get stronger.”
 
As he was summarizing all of the knowledge he suddenly figured Kisuke must have experienced a lot of pain and loss in his life, since he didn’t strike him as a person who experienced a lot of positive emotions.
 
“Sensei, do you still remember what you went through to awaken it?”
 
(WC: 562, TWC: 1894)

The forest Kisuke was leading his Uchiha student towards was now within sigh, just down the road the two were currently walking. It was a sacred Uchiha wood, located at the center of the district and preserved throughout the generations. This early in the morning Kisuke knew that no one would be present in the forest therefore he would have it all to himself to do what he had planned for Minato. As he continued to casually stroll down the street, the red headed Uchiha would bring his right arm to his face and placed his cigarette on the edge of his lips. Tacking a few quick puffs in succession from one another, Kisuke would bury his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket while listening to Minato answer his question. 

"You'd be the first to unlock your Sharingan with a positive emotion." Kisuke commented. From both experience and from clan knowledge, there were no positive emotions that could lead an Uchiha to unlock one of the three stages of their Sharingan. It all involved negative emotions or a sense of defeat. If Minato had figured out how to somehow turn the tables, Kisuke was more than intrigued. "But for the most part you are right. Sorrow and sadness, hopelessness, and weakness are the three known emotions that need to be invoked in order to achieve each of the three states of the Sharingan." Taking the cigarette out of his mouth so that he would no longer have to mumble, Kisuke exhaled the fumes and continued "Fortunately for us however, those emotions are quite easy to replicate without waiting for the world to enforce them on us." If an Uchiha wanted to take their destiny into their own hands and not wait for the world to curse them with pain in order to evolve, they could do so. Kisuke knew this all too well.

Not leading Minato into the forest, Kisuke would head to the center of the forest. "Yeah, I remember." Mused the Uchiha as he strolled through the thick canopy of woods, deciding on how much he was actually going to tell Minato for too much information would give away what he had planned. "I unlocked my first tomoe when I was an academy student, on the day my mother died of cancer." Coming to a halt, this was now a perfect segway to begin what he had planned for his fellow brethren. "The world unfairly took her from me and in my sorrow my eyes were awakened."

Flicking the bud of his cigarette onto the dirt ground beneath him and snuffing it out with the sole of his boat, Kisuke would reach in to the inner flap of his leather jacket as he pulled out a slip of paper. "There's a reason why I asked you about Fukoro earlier, if you had seen him recently." Kisuke stated, putting on his best performance to act sorrowful. "And why I asked you to meet me and lead you here." Handing Minato the folded slip of paper, Kisuke would continue to speak, keenly watching Minato as he did so. "I received this yesterday. I contacted you as soon as I did." 

That was all Kisuke would say about that. When Minato would open and read the contents of the letter he would see that it was a detailed letter explaining how Fukoro had died, killed by missing ninja while out on a simple merchant escort mission. Of course, it was not true. The letter was fabricated by Kisuke, a copy of the death letter he had received when his first ally Jin had died of a heart attack. He knew that Fukoro had gone away and thus knew that Minato would also not have known where he was. Once that was confirmed, Kisuke knew he could show Minato this fabricated letter in an attempt to invoke the same feelings he felt on the day his mother died. If those same feelings were brewed within Minato about his cousin, then just maybe he could finally unlock his Sharingan. Hopefully his little experiment would work, for there was more to come.

It was still morning when the two Uchiha were making their way out of the road and into the center of the district where the sacred woods were located. At this moment Minato had no idea where his sensei was taking him. He wouldn’t feel comfortable out there on his own so he was relieved that Kisuke was with him. Not too long after they would continue their conversation about the different stages of unlocking the Sharingan. 

Kisuke confirmed that the biggest three factors to successfully awaken the Sharingan were sorrow and sadness, hopelessness, and weakness. All were emotions that Minato had yet to experience in his life. His red haired sensei would then add that they were fortunate enough to replicate those feelings. Minato wasn’t sure what he meant by that. Replicating feelings? How would something like that even work?

But before he could ask more about it his sensei had already moved on to the next part of his explanation. Earlier Minato had asked if Kisuke remembered how he awakened his Sharingan. Of course he would, it's not something you would be able to forget just like that after all. Kisuke explained what made him unlock the first tomoe as he shared the event that took place to cause such an emotional reaction. He suddenly stopped walking when he opened up about the day he reached the first stage of the Sharingan. It was at a time where he was still an Academy student and where he had lost his mother due to a silent but no less deadly killer called cancer. A disease that had taken the life of Kisuke's mother. A disease that took her away from her young son, way too early. A disease that ultimately resulted in him feeling the sorrow needed to unlock the first tomoe.

Minato felt sorry for his fellow Uchiha. He was looking for the right words to say since he was lucky enough to have both of his parents alive and well. So he couldn't claim to know or understand how he felt. It was expected of a shinobi to be able to put their feelings aside so they wouldn't get in the way of a mission or cloud their judgment. But they were still humans capable of experiencing feelings like sorrow, sadness, hopelessness. And there was nothing wrong with that. 
Now that Minato had witnessed Kisuke opening up to him about his personal life, he figured it was best not to push it any further as he wanted to avoid that he would start thinking back at that day where he had to say his goodbyes to his mother. 
"I'm sorry for your loss sensei, although it won't bring her back I'm sure she would be proud of the man you have become."

With that topic closed for now, he would then notice how Kisuke reached in to his leather jacket as he pulled out a piece of paper. Confused with what was going on, the only option for Minato was to wait for Kisuke to explain the meaning of the piece of paper he just took out of his jacket. Kisuke noted that the letter had something to do with him asking about Fukuro earlier, as it seemed to involve his whereabouts. He informed Minato that he only received it yesterday and contacted him as soon as he could. 

A letter? From his cousin? If he wasn't already confused, he would surely be by now. 
"What do you mean? I thought you had no idea where Fukuro was?"
Kisuke would then hand over the letter so Minato would finally be able to find out what was going on.

It was almost as if time had stopped. It felt like there was nobody around him anymore as he couldn't hear anything. When he finally came to his senses and had returned to the present time he could see himself standing with his hands in front of him, holding a letter. A letter? Oh right, he remembered. Not too long ago he was given a letter about Fukuro. What was in it again? Looking in front of him he decided to have another look.
When he was done reading the letter he would notice something started to drip on it. He didn't remember that it had started to rain? It took him a while to realise it wasn't the rain, but his tears coming down after reading the following content of the letter.

"With deep regret we hereby wish to inform you that Uchiha Fukuro has fallen during a battle with Missing Ninja."

Has fallen? What the hell were they talking about? 
"Hey sensei, this is the moment where you're telling me this is some kind of sick joke right?"

As he turned to Kisuke, hoping he would tell him that it wasn't true, that it wasn't what he thought it would be. He wanted to hear the words that Fukuro was okay, but those words weren't coming.
Grabbing and pulling the shirt of Kisuke, begging him to admit that it wasn't true, right before he almost collapsed and dropped on his knees. Sitting on his knees, punching the ground till his fists started bleeding. The blood of his fists started mixing with the tears falling from his face. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be. There's no way his cousin was dead, it just couldn't be true. Those were the thoughts going through his head as he slowly started to lose his mind. 

His younger cousin he promised to protect. His cousin who was the first to be there after he had graduated. His cousin he went on his first mission with. His cousin with who he joined his first team. Minato felt like he was going crazy, all of these thoughts coming to him at the same time. His heart started pounding, his breathing turned uncontrollable. It slowly started to sound more like reality, the fact that he had actually lost his cousin Fukuro. His cousin was no more. Dead.

He had almost forgot that Kisuke was there as well, what would his sensei think when he saw one of his students crashing and almost go into a shock right before his eyes? Minato looked up, trying to look Kisuke in the eyes. But when he tried to look in front of him, he had trouble having a clear vision. It was as if his eyesight was blurred. He started to rub his eyes, trying to make the blur go away. After a couple of minutes the blur finally went away and he was able to see clearly again. What could it have been this time?

(WC: 1108, TWC: 3002)

"The man I have become..." Kisuke though to himself, letting the words of his student reverberate through his mind. And who exactly had he become? It felt like forever ago since the passing of his mom and yet Kisuke was no different. He had made no significant changes to the village or exacted any kind of influence on his clan. By his own hand he plunged a kunai into one of his own allies simply to protect himself, after he had failed to protect the village against the invasion of Kiri's forces. Then he went on a hiatus, giving up on his responsibilities and failing in his duty to be a shinobi that the village. What kind of man was that? Not one his mom could be proud of. But, he was trying to make amends from his past failures. He was trying to make a difference, he was taking on the responsibilities of a leader, he was trying to grow both as a shinobi and as a man. Hopefully that was something she could be proud of. 

"It's not from Fukuro, its from....." Kisuke paused a moment, solemnly gazing at Minato. He knew he was lying to the kid and he had a thought about how Minato would react to this lie, but it was a necessary lie to force the kid's natural evolution to take place. "Just read it." Handing the letter to the same aged Uchiha, Kisuke would watch with pure intensity and focus as Minato opened the letter and read the fabricated for sentence. Kisuke's stern gaze would not falter as he crossed his arms along his chest and stared at Minato. "I'm afraid not." Would be his curt, simply answer to Minato hoping this was a joke. Maybe it was, maybe it wasnt, but as far as Kisuke was concerned it did not matter. He was trying to elicit a specific emotions out of his fellow Uchiha.

What he was looking for finally came when Minato erupted in tears, sobering like an infant and pulling on Kisuke's perfectly clean white shirt, as if somehow that would change the nature of the situation he now found himself in, as if somehow wrinkling Kisuke's shirt would make this sick nightmare vanish and bring his cousin back to life. Unmoving and unwavering in his attitude, Kisuke sternly gazed as Minato with his arms remaining crossed, never altering his position and simply his eyes moved to watch the Uchiha descend onto his knees. 

Condescendingly Kisuke would gaze down at his inferior student, watching him pull his tantrum only to see that his Sharingan was still dormant when he looked up in disbelief. Looks like Kisuke would have to do more work, as expected. "This is the life you signed up for. Last I checked, you're a shinobi. Get use to it." Fixing the shirt Minato ruffled up, the red headed Uchiha would continue "You're going to lose people you care about... all the fucking time." Death was a natural part this world. Between the inoccent who passed away peacefully like his mom, those who were slaughtered during battle and those who were murdered and betrayed by their own. The life of a shinobi was a harsh and turbulent one, one Minato would have to get use to. "Is this how you're always going to deal with bad news?"

Anyone with a heart, with a family, has experienced loss. No one escapes unscathed. All of them understand the emotion that comes from saying goodbye, not knowing if they'll see that person again, or worse: knowing that they won't. It was no different for Kisuke as he had experienced the loss of his mother. And now it was the same for Minato, having lost his younger cousin he swore to protect. The young Uchiha had just received a letter from his sensei saying his cousin Fukuro had lost his life in a battle between shinobi and missing nin. At first he thought it was some sick joke or a terrible nightmare he would wake up from soon, but unfortunately it was the horrible truth. 

Still sitting on his hands and knees with his face turned towards the ground, the crushed Minato was wondering why his sensei hadn't said anything or didn't try to comfort his student now that he had lost a loved one. The answer to that would soon follow as the red haired Uchiha started speaking. Reminding his student that it was the life he had signed up for, how he was aware that the life of a shinobi was one where it was inevitable to lose someone you care about. How it was in his best interest to better get used to it as it wasn't going to be the last time he would lose someone close to him. Hearing his sensei going on about it, Minato felt as if he was getting stabbed by a kunai every time Kisuke said those words. He knew all too well the risks that came with the life of a shinobi. It wasn't as if he would be able to go on a mission every now and then only to return without experiencing any hardship. 

"I know that!" he would yell out as he finally turned to Kisuke with a new found anger inside him, caused by the death of his cousin. It was at that same moment something had awakened inside Minato and it wasn't just his anger. Too busy trying to control his emotions Minato wouldn't be aware of it, but Kisuke would be able to notice a change in his student's eyes. Surrounded by the dried up tears, his sensei would finally be able to see how Minato's eyes went from brown to a beautiful red, accompanied by the symbol of the first tomoe. This view would mean that Minato was able to unlock the first stage of the Sharingan and his sensei was the first to witness this event since Minato was still too much distracted by all the different emotions going on inside his head. 

With his newly awakened Sharingan still activated Minato began thinking about what Kisuke had said and what he would do with it. Grief does not change a person. It reveals his true identity. It's only after we've lost everything that we're able to be reborn. Sometimes a loss is the best thing that can happen. It teaches you what you have done wrong and what you should have done to prevent it, although pain is inevitable. Giving yourself permission to lose guarantees a loss. Minato knew his cousin Fukuro wouldn't want him to cry over his death, he would rather want him to live on for both of their sake. How you take a loss isn't important, what's important is how you handle it. And Minato would try his hardest to handle this pain the best way possible, still unaware of the fact that he unlocked his Sharingan.

(WC: 598, TWC: 3600)

(Exit)
(TWC: 3600)
Claims:

- 2000/2000 for awakening Sharingan 1st tomoe
- 1600/4000 towards Sharingan 2nd tomoe
- 18 stats